Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas cut its Applied Materials stake by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,296 shares and ending with 67,287 shares valued at about $17.3 million.
• Applied Materials beat earnings and revenue expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $2.86 EPS on $7.91 billion in revenue and lifting revenue 11.4% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with multiple analysts raising price targets and maintaining bullish ratings, while the stock has also been hitting or nearing 52-week highs amid semiconductor strength.

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 12,296 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $585.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $431.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $355.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $599.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Applied Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled new deposition and selective etch systems designed to help chipmakers build next-generation 3D structures more precisely, which supports the company’s role in AI chip manufacturing and could lift long-term demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Applied Materials and kept an Overweight rating, reinforcing confidence that wafer fab equipment spending remains strong. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer singled out AMAT favorably on Mad Money, which may have added to the stock’s momentum as investors look for semiconductor names with upside when the sector strengthens. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted AMAT hitting 52-week highs alongside broader semiconductor strength, suggesting the stock is benefiting from renewed optimism in the chip equipment group. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles noted that AMAT has rallied sharply and may be extended near recent highs, meaning some traders see room for caution if the stock needs to consolidate before its next move. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Seeking Alpha argued the stock is not cheap enough to buy aggressively, but also not weak enough to sell, reflecting a valuation debate rather than a clear bearish catalyst. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $483.03.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials' offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.

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